The
barks of Ficusreligiosa
L. and Ficusbengalensis L.,
which belongs to family Moraceae, were investigated
for invitro
antibacterial activity and phytochemical analysis.
The various solvents extract like aqueous, methanol, chloroform, petroleum
ether and hexane were screened for antibacterial activity against EnterotoxigenicE. coli isolated from diarrhoeal
patients. The preliminary phytochemical analysis of
the methanol extracts of both the plants showed the presence of
carbohydrates, flavonoids, aminoacids,
steroids, saponins and tannins. The extracts were
subjected for antibacterial activity against EnterotoxignicE.coli(ETEC) at 200mg/ml concentration by
disc diffusion method. The results of antibacterial activity revealed that
methanol extracts of both the plants barks exhibits good activity compared to
chloroform and aqueous extracts. Petroleum ether and hexane extracts did not
show any activity. The antibacterial activities of extracts were compared
with standard antibiotics.

Diarrhoea is
one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among infants and
children in developing countries. Although commensal
representatives found in the intestinal flora of humans are non-pathogenic,
certain strains are highly pathogenic. EnterotoxigenicE. coli(ETEC)
is the most prevalent among the various types of diarrhoeagenicE. coli
in India (Tanejaet al.,
2004).The increasing antibiotic resistance
to commonly used antibiotics exhibited by diarrhoeal
pathogens has led to the screening of several medicinal plans for their
potential antimicrobial activity (Mukherjee, et al.,
1998). Plants are rich in a wide variety of secondary metabolites, such as
tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, and flavonoids, which have been found invitro
to have antimicrobial properties (Majorie Murphy Cowan.1999). So, the use of and search for
drugs and dietary supplement derived from plants have accelerated in recent
years.

Ficusreligiosa. L. belongs to the family Moraceae, is commonly known as Peepal
tree, and has many medicinal properties. The barks have been used for diarrhoea, dysentery, leucorrhea,
menorrhagia, for vaginal and other urogential disorders. Ficusbengalensis belongs to the family Moraceae, which is commonly known as Banyan tree. It is
used in Ayurveda for treatment of diarrhoea, piles, teeth and skin disorders (Warrieret al.,
1995). The present study was aimed to carry out the preliminary phytochemical analysis and to screen invitro
antibacterial activity against diarrhoealEnterotoxigenicE. coli (ETEC) isolated from patients.

Materials
and Methods

The barks of F. religiosa and F. bengalensis were collected in and
around Chidambaram, Tamilnadu, India and
identified, confirmed and authenticated by the Department of Botany, AnnamalaiUniversity, Tamilnadu, India. The
barks were washed, shade dried and extracted with aqueous, methanol,
chloroform, petroleum ether and hexane for 48 hours with occasional shaking
in a beaker. The extracts were filtered. The filtrate was dried at 50 to 60 o.
The extracts were dried and percentage yield was calculated and subjected to
preliminary phytochemical analysis. The invitro screening of antibacterial activity was carried
out using three EnteroxigenicE.coli(ETEC), isolated from diarrhoeal
patients, attending RajahMuthiahMedicalCollege and
Hospital, AnnamaliNagar,
TamilnaduIndia.

The antibacterial screening of the
extracts were carried out by determining the zone of inhibition using disc
diffusion method (Sahooet al., 2006). The strains were grown to logarithmic phase in
nutrient broth and the inoculum was prepared by
adjusting the turbidity of bacterial suspension to 0.5 McFarland’s tube with
nutrient broth (Mc Farland et al., 1987).

The dried extracts were dissolved in
5% Dimethylsulphoxide
(DMSO) to the concentration 200mg/ml and finally sterilized by filtration.
The sterile discs (6mm in diameter) were impregnated with 20 l of the above extracts to achieve desired
concentration of 4mg/ml. The extract discs were placed on Muller-Hinton agar
plates (Himedia), which were previously inoculated
with test strains and incubated at 37oC for 24 hours. Amikacin disc (10g) and 5% DMSO impregnated discs
were used as positive and negative controls respectively and the zones of
inhibition were recorded.

Results

Preliminary phytochemical
analysis ofthe methanol extracts of the barks of F. religiosa
and F. bengalensisshowed the presence of carbohydrates, flavonoids,
aminoacids, steroids, sopaninis
and tannins. The antibacterial activity in terms of zone of inhibition is
shown in Table 1.

Table.
1Zone of inhibition of Ficusreligiosa.
L and FicusbengalensisL.

Solvent
extracts

Conc.
of disc

Ficusreligosa

Ficusbengalensis

ETEC
1

ETEC
2

ETEC3

ETEC
1

ETEC
2

ETEC3

Aqueous

4mg/ml

8mm

8mm

10mm

8mm

12mm

10mm

Methanol

4mg/ml

12mm

12mm

14mm

16mm

14mm

14mm

Chloroform

4mg/ml

10mm

10mm

12mm

12mm

12mm

12mm

Petroleum ether

4mg/ml

-

-

-

-

-

-

Hexane

4mg/ml

-

-

-

-

-

-

Amikacin

10 g

24mm

22mm

20mm

20mm

24mm

24mm

DMSO

5%

-

-

-

-

-

-

Discussion
and Conclusion

The use of plants and plant preparations has
been in existent since prehistory. The World Health Organization (WHO)
reported that about 80% of the world’s population depend mainly on traditional
medicine and the traditional treatment involve mainly the use of plant
extracts (WHO, 1993). In the present study, among the various solvent
extracts, methanol extract found to be more active against all the EnterotoxigenicE. coli, which is isolated from diarrhoeal
patients. These findings suggest new pathway in elucidating a potent antimicrobial agent from Ficusreligiosa L. and FicusbengalensisL. in general in Ficus species. Invivo
experiments are needed to confirm these findings.